Voting

The Man From The North Commentary On The Elections

November 15, 2018 Rivera Sun, Essays Man From the North Educate! Democracy, Elections, Voting

The Vote - the beloved, abused, scorned, corrupted, stolen, hijacked, pointless, profound, hopeful, depressing, hard-won, cherished vote - is not the only way to take action for meaningful change. Currently, the elections operate in our nation like a cattle chute, all too often forcing us back into the deadly, no-win tracks of the two- party duopoly that serves only the moneyed class. It becomes a handy device for siphoning off the demand for revolutionary change by giving false hope that elected officials will actually enact their campaign promises once in office.

Federal Judge Won’t Block Voter ID Law That Strips Native Americans Of Their Voting Rights

November 3, 2018 Alexandra Jacobo, Nationofchange.org Educate! Courts, Elections, Electoral Politics, Indigenous Peoples, North Dakota, Revisionism, Voting

A federal judge in North Dakota has denied an emergency motion that sought to seek relief for Native Americans against a state voter ID law that will make it so that “hundreds, perhaps thousands of Native Americans” will not be able to vote in next week’s elections. Although U.S. District Court Judge Daniel Hovland expressed that there is a “great cause for concern” in regards to the law, he ruled against the motion because it would cause more confusion and chaos so close to the election. “The federal courts are unanimous in their judgment that it is highly important to preserve the status quo when elections are fast approaching,” Judge Hovland wrote.

Election Rigging And The Decline Of American Democracy

October 27, 2018 Dan Sisken, Occupy.com Educate! Democracy, Electoral Politics, Revisionism, Voting

In the mid 1990s, scholars of politics in the Arab world published a book titled “Democracy without Democrats?” It appeared in the midst of a period of liberalization in some Arab countries that included competitive elections for parliaments and a loosening of state control over the media. The premise was that if democratic institutions such as elections, political parties and a partially free press could be established, they might entrench a more open and liberal system of government that could evolve into a more fully democratic regime. Many of the contributors to the volume were skeptical and as matters developed in places like Jordan, Egypt and Algeria, the skeptics were proven right...

Voting Matters, But Staying Engaged Matters More

October 14, 2018 Jill Richardson, Other Words. Strategize! Activism, Elections, Voting

After Brett Kavanaugh was confirmed, my Facebook feed filled up with people telling one another to vote in the midterms. “If you don’t like what’s happening in America, vote!” they said. And yes, I’ll vote. I always vote. As a believer in democracy, I’m in favor of everyone voting. And if the Democrats take either house of Congress, there will be real change — to a point. However, there are larger changes that voting won’t bring. Not this time, anyway. For left-leaning Americans, voting for Democrats has its limits. Here are some of them. First, most of the Democratic Party leadership is beholden to their wealthy donor base.

A Progressive Platform To Take Back Chicago In 2019

October 9, 2018 By Carlos Ramirez-Rosa and Rossana Rodriguez, Inthesetimes.com Create! Chicago, Electoral Politics, Revisionism, Voting

Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s decision to not seek a third term has sent the city’s political and business communities into a speculative frenzy. While Chicago’s financial elite is preoccupied with the potential threat to business as usual, politicians and activists across the city are asking who should run—and who can win. But for progressives who want to see fundamental change in Chicago, Emanuel’s exit must spark something bigger than the campaign of any individual mayoral candidate—it must inspire the people of Chicago to transform our city from the bottom up. When previous mayor Richard M. Daley announced his retirement in 2010, the air was filled with talk of a non-machine candidate shaking up the status quo.

The 1% Has A Dark Plot To Replace American Democracy With An Elite Plutocracy — And It’s Working

September 21, 2018 By Leo Gerard, Independentmediainstitute.org Educate! Electoral Politics, Ruling Class, Voting

They’ve got all that money but, hypothetically, no more voting power than their chauffeur or yacht captain or nanny in a one-person, one-vote democracy. In this one-person, one-vote democracy, though, they’ve got a plan to fix all that for themselves. They’re paying for it. And they’re accomplishing it, even though that means stripping voting rights from non-rich minority groups. Their goal is to make America more of a one-dollar, one-vote plutocracy. Their scheme is deeply offensive to democratic ideals. In a perfect democracy, each citizen possesses the same power of self-governance as all other individuals, no matter how poor or rich, no matter their religion or skin color, no matter their country of origin or ancestry. This equity is unnerving to some 1 percenters who believe their wealth proves their inherent higher value than other human beings...

On The Technical Aspects Of Voting, Venezuela Does It Right

May 20, 2018 Kevin Zeese, Popular Resistance. Educate! Democracy, Elections, Venezuela, Voting

Caracas, Venezuela - The voting system in Venezuela cannot be technically challenged in any serious way. It is open, transparent, leaves a voter-verified paper record and can easily be recounted if there are any questions about the results. It prevents voter fraud, as a fingerprint is needed to start someone's voting process. In the early 2000's, I was in the leadership of a group seeking to fix the poor voting system in Maryland. After the 'hanging chad' election in 2000 that put George W. Bush in the White House, many states rushed to paperless, computer voting systems.

Voter Suppression Law Goes On Trial

March 6, 2018 Sam Levine, Huffingtonpost.com Resist! Electoral Politics, Legislation, Voting

In 2013, Donna Bucci, a woman in her 50′s living in Wichita, Kansas, went to renew her driver’s license. Bucci had been Kansas resident for a few years, and decided to use her trip to the DMV as an opportunity to register to vote while she was there. Bucci didn’t need to prove she was a citizen to renew her license (Kansas says an expiring license is good enough). But shortly after she registered, she received a phone call and a letter in the mail saying her voter registration was still pending because she hadn’t proved she was a citizen. Bucci, who was born in Maryland, didn’t have a copy of her birth certificate or any of the other documents, like a passport, to prove she was a citizen. She was working a minimum wage job at a correctional facility at the time and couldn’t afford the $20 to get her birth certificate from Maryland. Because she couldn’t prove she was a citizen, Kansas kicked her off the voting rolls.

Calling Out The Kobach Commission For What It Is

September 29, 2017 Emma Olson Sharky, www.billmoyers.com Educate! Electoral Politics, Voting, Voting Rights

By Emma Olson Sharky for Moyers and Company - In the coverage that followed the recent meeting of the Presidential Advisory Commission on Voter Integrity, the media focused on the testimony of John Lott Jr., a gun researcher who argued that the Bureau of Alcohol, Firearms and Tobacco’s background check system should be used to check voter eligibility. And while Lott’s testimony was worthy of the coverage — if not just for its ridiculousness, but also for its inaccuracy — this focus diverted attention from Kris Kobach’s continued underlying goal: to use this commission as a tool to restrict voting across the entire country. From the very start of this commission, Kris Kobach — Kansas’ Republican Secretary of State and vice chair of the commission — has made voter restriction his main objective. On June 28, as one of the panel’s very first actions, Kobach sent letters to the secretaries of state in all 50 states and the District of Columbia, asking them to compile and send extensive data on their voters. He requested not just names and addresses, but also other deeply personal information, such as dates of birth, Social Security numbers, political party affiliation and every election voted dating back to 2006.

1 In 4 Voters Live In States With Automatic Voter Registration

August 29, 2017 Staff, www.brennancenter.org Create! Illinois, Voting, Voting Rights

By Staff of Brennan Center for Justice - Chicago, IL – Today, Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner signed a bill to bring automatic voter registration to the state, which could help sign up more than 1 million eligible voters. The legislation had passed by a unanimous vote in both chambers earlier this summer. Rauner’s signature means that 80 million Americans — 1 in 4 — now live in a state where automatic voter registration has been approved. The plan would help sign up Illinoisans currently not on the voter rolls by automatically registering them when they interact with the DMV and other state agencies, unless they decline. It is an approach that not only increases voter participation, but also saves states money and increases accuracy of voter rolls. Illinois’ legislation is notable for having the potential to bring the reform to a broad range of state agencies, as opposed to other efforts around the country that focus largely on driver’s license–issuing offices. The bill, which passed 55-0 in the state Senate and 115-0 in the House, was sponsored by Sen. Andy Manar (D) and other legislators. The Just Democracy Coalition advocated strongly for the legislation, which also had the support of several local election officials including Cook County Clerk David Orr, along with the Brennan Center for Justice at NYU School of Law.

Hackers Breach Dozens Of Voting Machines Brought To Conference

July 31, 2017 Joe Uchill, www.thehill.com Educate! Cyber Security, Hacking, Voting

By Joe Uchill for The Hill - LAS VEGAS — One of the nation’s largest cybersecurity conferences is inviting attendees to get hands-on experience hacking a slew of voting machines, demonstrating to researchers how easy the process can be. “It took me only a few minutes to see how to hack it,” said security consultant Thomas Richards, glancing at a Premier Election Solutions machine currently in use in Georgia. The DEF CON cybersecurity conference is held annually in Las Vegas. This year, for the first time, the conference is hosting a "Voting Machine Village," where attendees can try to hack a number of systems and help catch vulnerabilities. The conference acquired 30 machines for hackers to toy with. Every voting machine in the village was hacked. Though voting machines are technologically simple, they are difficult for researchers to obtain for independent research. The machine that Richards learned how to hack used beneath-the-surface software, known as firmware, designed in 2007. But a number of well-known vulnerabilities in that firmware have developed over the past decade. “I didn’t come in knowing what to expect, but I was surprised by what I found,” he said. He went on to list a number of actions he hoped states would take to help secure machines, including increasing testing opportunities for outside hackers and transparency in voting machine design.

The Latest Challenges To The South’s Felony Disenfranchisement Laws

July 20, 2017 Olivia Paschal, www.facingsouth.org Create! South, Voting, Voting Rights

By Olivia Paschal for Facing South - While all Southern states have laws disenfranchising people while they are incarcerated and on probation or parole, Florida stands out with one of the nation's most restrictive felony disenfranchisement laws — one of only four states that impose a lifetime ban on voting for anyone convicted of a felony. The others are Virginia, Kentucky and Iowa. Because of the law, there are currently nearly 1.7 million Floridians — the highest number in any state — that have permanently lost the right to vote, according to a 2016 report by The Sentencing Project. Florida accounts for 27 percent of the national population of people disenfranchised due to felony convictions, and the 1.5 million Floridians who have completed their sentences but remain without voting rights make up 48 percent of the national total. But they could get that right back thanks to a ballot initiative now underway to amend the state constitution and allow people with felony convictions to vote once they complete their sentences, including probation or parole. This spring, the Florida Supreme Court approved the language for the initiative, which was drafted by Floridians for a Fair Democracy, a coalition of nonpartisan civic and faith organizations. But for the amendment to appear on the ballot next November, its supporters need to collect and submit over 700,000 signatures to county elections supervisors, who will need to verify them by Feb. 1.

Venezuela Votes: Will The World’s Media Ever Get It Right?

July 18, 2017 Staff, www.telesurtv.net Educate! Elections, Media, Propaganda, Venezuela, Voting

By Staff of Tele Sur - International coverage entirely ignores Sunday's demonstration of support for a Constituent Assembly. Did you hear the one about a practice election in Venezuela, where millions of people lined up from early morning until late at night, just to cast their vote in a dry run poll that meant absolutely nothing at all? Except to express support for another election in two weeks time? Actually, it's not a joke. It did happen. On Sunday. Video shows them singing and dancing as they waited to test voting machines and see how the election of a new Constituent Assembly on July 30 will work. But you probably never heard about it. Because the world's media, pretty much without exception, concentrated almost exclusively on the other vote happening in Venezuela on Sunday, an informal plebiscite held by the opposition, with no constitutional status, to oppose that Constituent Assembly. So let's just look at the quality media. The New York Times for example — you remember: “All the news that's fit to print.” Well, maybe not ALL of it ...

Voters Are Fired Up For Single Payer Creating Dilemma For Democrats

June 6, 2017 Margaret Flowers, www.healthoverprofit.org Organize! Congress, Health Care, Single-Payer, Voting

By Margaret Flowers for Health Over Profit - On Sunday, June 4, the same day that Our Revolution, a Democratic Party group that arose from the Bernie Sanders presidential campaign, organized rallies and die-ins to highlight the number of people dying in the United States due to lack of access to health care, the New York Times published an article, “The Single Payer Party? Democrats Shift Left on Health Care“, prominently on the front page and above the fold. The article quotes RoseAnn DeMoro, head of National Nurses United, saying, “There is a cultural shift. Health care is now seen as something everyone deserves. It’s like a national light went off.” Minnesota Congressman Rick Nolan was also quoted, saying that rank and file Democrats “are energized in a way I have not witnessed in a long, long time.” Nolan is correct in stating that following the Democrat’s large loss in 2016, the party needs “a more boldly ‘aspirational’ health care platform.” Democratic Party voters have been strong supporters of single payer health care for a long time. Polls have consistently shown that super-majorities of Democratic Party voters want single payer, but Democratic Party candidates keep telling them that they can’t have it.

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